Black Moon Ascending
by Mad Melvin
Summary: Why did she do it? Why did she kill her mother and everyone she ever loved...read on and find out the shocking details!
1. Default Chapter

Ch.1  
Black Moon Ascending  
By Mad Melvin  
  
The afternoon sun streamed through the doors of Crown's arcade, bathing  
Andrew in it's blinding light as he sat in the manager's booth. Andrew was  
getting quite annoyed by the light and had just started to walk over to  
pull the shades on the entrance doors when the shadow of a customer fell  
across his face, momentarily blinding him. The next thing he knew, someone  
collapsed into his arms, forcing him to stumble backwards into the booth.  
Andrew quickly regained his footing and finally saw who had just collapsed;  
Serena was slumped against his chest, her arms hung limply at her sides.  
Andrew quickly scooped Serena up into his arms and carried her into the  
manager's office. He laid her on the couch and took a moment to asses her  
condition and find out what had happened. The only thing he could find was  
a small puncture wound on her left side just below her armpit. The wound  
was already swollen and red lines were quickly spreading outward from the  
center. Andrew was only into his prep classes for medical school, but he  
easily recognized the signs of a reaction to some venom.  
  
After he had gotten Serena stabilized, he immediately called Dr. Mizuno and  
alerted her to the situation. As he awaited the arrival of Ami's mother,  
he tried to get Serena to tell him what had happened. Though her mind was  
slipping quickly into darkness, she was still able to tell Andrew a few  
words. Serena managed to mumble the words, "Scorpion Twins..beat'em good!"  
After that she slipped into unconsciousness, leaving Andrew to ponder her  
last words. Dr. Mizuno arrived quickly from the hospital and started  
working on Serena, after checking for more serious injuries; she injected  
her with a strong anti-venom serum and helped Andrew make her more  
comfortable. Serena lay in the back office under Dr. Mizuno's watchful  
eyes while Andrew went about the business of keeping the arcade running  
until closing time. After the arcade had closed, the two of them carried  
Serena out to the car and took her back to the Tsukino house where they  
were met by the other Senshi who had rushed over right after they heard of  
Serena's injury. They soon had Serena tucked into bed with someone  
watching over her while the rest of the team assembled in the dinning room  
to discuss the incident. Molly was the last of the Guardians to arrive at  
Serena's house; she had been down in Yokohama when her pager alerted her to  
the crisis.  
  
Finally all the Senshi (except Pluto) were at the Tsukino house along with  
the 4 members of their elite guardians: Andrew, Molly, Shingo and Dr.  
Mizuno. The Guardians had been created after each had discovered the  
secret identities of the Senshi. They had then formed them into a team to  
assist with intelligence gathering and to watch their backs in times of  
crisis. While Andrew and Molly held allegiance to the entire team, Shingo  
had dedicated himself to be Ami's personal guardian. Shingo knew that he  
could never win Ami's heart for himself, so he chose to serve her until the  
very end. For his love and friendship, Ami had given him the official  
title of "Minos, Silver knight of Mercury!" After being named "Silver  
knight of Mercury", Shingo started strutting around, quit proud of his new  
position in the order.  
  
Andrew was the first to speak to the gathered forces of the new Silver  
Millennium, "apparently Serena ran into the Twin Scorpions earlier today,  
but from what she told me, it sounds like we have finally defeated them at  
last!" Everyone was relieved to hear this news; the Twin Scorpions had  
been giving them all trouble for the past few months. At least now it  
seemed that they had been sent back to their own dimension and they would  
cause no more trouble for Tokyo. Dr. Mizuno then rose to inform the team  
of Serena's condition; " Serena received a severe puncture in her side from  
one of the Scorpions Stingers." Darien quickly jumped in; " is she going  
to be okay, can you treat her wounds? " "Fortunately, with the samples you  
had gathered from previous battles, I was able to create an anti-venom in  
case anyone got stung." " I'm happy to report that Serena will recover in  
time, but it will take quit some time for her strength to return." " For  
the moment she is unconscious but she should come out of it after the venom  
is purged from her system."  
  
Mina sat beside Serena's bed gently wiping her feverish brow with a damp  
cloth. " Why didn't you call one of use to help, you meatball head?" Mina  
asked, hoping that she would get some response, but her question was only  
answered with silence. Mina looked at Serena's gentle face, the golden  
bangs of her hair stuck to her reddish forehead. " My queen, you must grow  
stronger than this, you will need greater strength in the future." " Never  
fight alone when you can get one of us to help, you are just too important  
to our future." Mina raised the damp cloth to her own face, wiping away  
the tears which now flowed freely down her cheeks.  
  
~*~  
  
Serena's head was spinning in circles; she could not tell if she was  
sleeping or awake. Her head finally cleared and she sat up in her bed, the  
silk drapes that hung from the frame of her bed, blocked her sight of the  
bedroom. Serena pushed the drapes aside and stepped into the room that had  
been her home for more than 300 years. Serena walked out onto her balcony  
and looked out across the desolate ruins of the Moon Kingdom, the emptiness  
of the site never failed to cause a tear to run down her face. Her eyes  
then looked up above the horizon and focused on the earth, it's brown and  
lifeless surface looked back mockingly at her. " Oh Endymion-Sama, how I  
miss you my love, can you ever forgive me for destroying your beloved  
world?"  
  
The memories of those last terrible moments of the silver millennium  
flooding into her mind. Queen Metalia had just killed Prince Endymion and  
Queen Serenity was about to use the Silver Crystal to seal her away once  
again. Princess Serenity, in her grief and rage took hold of the ancient  
sword of poison stone and in one last fit of madness thrust it upwards  
towards the form of the Queen. The princess invoked the ancient Gods of  
destruction for the power to destroy her enemies and her prayers were  
answered with an enormous blast of energy. The power that she invoked did  
more than destroy Queen Metalia; it also killed her mother Queen Serenity  
and lay waste to the Moon Kingdom. But that was not all, as she watched in  
horror; the energy wave headed out into space and finally engulfed the  
earth itself. The beautiful blue jewel that she had spent endless days  
watching in fascination, now burned in crimson flame until nothing was left  
alive on it's charred surface. Now all that could be seen was a blackened  
shell of a world that reflected only death and silence.  
  
"Now I am the Queen of a dead moon and a dead world, even my loyal friends  
who survived the destruction abandoned me, condemning me to eternal  
imprisonment in a lifeless system." "They took all my power and fled this  
star system, leaving me alone to suffer my fate." Serena walked back into  
her room, (the only thing left untouched on the moon), poured herself a  
drink and sat down in front of her mirror, loosing herself in it's timeless  
depths. 


	2. ch2

Ch2.  
  
Serena lay in her bed, her head tossing from side to side as if trying to avoid some unseen influence. Suddenly her eyes flew wide open and her stare was once again fixed on the ceiling above. The voices were once again calling out her name, begging her to save them from their own destruction. Her eyes were puffy and swollen, it was clear that she had not slept well for quit some time and her nerves were close to the breaking point. She slowly shook her mind free from her tormentors and rose from her useless bed. Having finally given up all hope of getting any sleep, she fixed a lite meal and then settled herself in front of the mirror, which was now her only reliable companion in the universe.  
  
Serena stared into the depths of the mirror, looking past her own image into the depths that lay beyond. " Why must they continue to torment me? " she asked her reflection, which just watched her from the other side. " I was only trying to save them; I didn't mean to kill everything that I loved, it was an accident after all." Serena just sat there, lost in the vast expanse of the mirror. {They all want vengeance}, a voice echoed in her head. Suddenly Serena's eye's opened wide, had she just heard someone answer her question? " Get a grip on yourself Serena, you're starting to hear voices when you're awake!" "If I keep this up I'll loose my mind for sure!" {You're not crazy}, now Serena was getting really freaked out, she had heard the voice again! "Ok; what's going on here, who's talking to me?" Serena quickly looked around the room and having seen no one else around, her gaze returned to her mirror. Just as she looked back into the mirror, she noticed something odd, her reflection was moving just a little slower than she was. Her centuries of solitude had not slowed her reflexes, she had jumped from her chair with cat like reflexes when she saw her reflection move on it's own. Now she stood on the opposite side of the room, but her reflection was still sitting in the chair that she had just left. For an instant, Serena stood frozen with fear, then fear gave way to curiosity. Nothing like this had happened to her in the past 325 years, and she had been pretty bored with the whole situation. She once again approached the mirror and stood looking at her reflection, which just continued to sit there and smile back at her. "Well I'm not going to stand here and let you drive me crazy, I'm going for a little walk and forget about you!" With that Serena placed a finger below her eye and pulled down the lid while she stuck her tongue out at the mirror, then she stormed off to take a walk around what was left of the dome that sheltered her home.  
  
Serena had not left the confines of her few little rooms for a few months, so it was about time that she walked the breadth of her realm and inspect the Kingdom that she had created. The building where she lived had once been a guardhouse, built for one of the captains of the imperial guard. While not nearly as big as her old room in the castle, it had enough room for Serena to live in relative comfort. After the destruction of the moon kingdom, the protective dome had begun to collapse due to the failing output of the main computer network that maintained the shield. As the dome contracted, Serena had scavenged whatever she could from the ruins, before they were cut off by the lunar vacuum. The destruction had been almost too severe, Serena had been hard pressed to find much of anything that she could drag out to her new home, yet somehow she managed to collect enough to live in relative comfort befitting the Queen.  
  
Serena walked slowly around the perimeter of her protective dome (roughly 3 acres) outside the dome she could clearly see the ruble of the old city, which now lay in the vacuum of space. As she walked around and around, she thought about what had happened earlier in her room, had she just imagined it all or was she finally starting to go insane after all these years? After a few hours of roaming outside, Serena was driven back inside by the approach of the lunar night. Slowly, Serena crept back into her quarters, being careful to not cross in front of the mirror until her nerves were settled a little more. Finally she had enough resolve to go back to the mirror and find out what was happening to her. As she turned and looked into the mirror, she was not surprised to see her reflection still sitting patiently in the chair awaiting her return. {Did you have a nice walk?} "Not that it's any of YOUR business, but yes, it was quite refreshing." {I'm glad.} "Like you really care, you're just a hallucination anyway!" With that, Serena turned the lights out and crawled into bed, hoping that all the exercise this evening would grant her some needed rest, and she was not disappointed, as soon as her head hit the pillow she was fast asleep. ~*~ "Hi Darien, how's Serena doing today?" Andrew asked as Darien was passing by the arcade. "There's been no change, she's still in a coma and we don't really know if she will ever come out." "They say that all the venom is out of her system, now all we can do is wait for her to return to us when she's ready." Andrew put his hand on Darien's shoulder to give him a little comfort, "She's a strong woman Darien, give her some time and I'm sure she will be back holding you in her arms once again!" "Thanks Andrew, I really needed a little pep talk!" With that reassurance, Darien continued on to Serena's house to take his turn watching over the woman he loved more than anything else in the world.  
  
Darien sat in his usual place at Serena's bedside, close enough to wipe her brow and to be ready to lend a hand if it were ever needed. His eyes lovingly looked over Serena's delicate face burning the image of his beloved Meatball head into his mind. Everyone knew that there was the slim possibility that she may never wake up again, and she would spend the rest of her life as little more than a delicate flower that is attended by it's admirers. Darien's eyes suddenly opened wide and he was momentarily unsure of his surroundings. "Damn it all man, you should not be dozing off while watching over Serena!" Darien scolded himself for his inattention, but something just didn't feel right. As he looked around the room he saw nothing out of the ordinary, but after glancing down at Serena, he saw the Golden moon crescent shinning on her forehead. As he was getting up out of his chair to spread the news of this hopeful sign of recovery, he suddenly stopped and stared at Serena. The Golden Crescent on her forehead, the mark of the true moon princess, began to fade out again. Then he noticed another even stranger thing happening, the Crescent Moon did not fade away, but instead it turned black as night and remained where it had formed. Now she bore the symbol of a black moon crescent upon her forehead and Darien's heart suddenly felt like lead, a sense of dread suddenly washed over his mind, his beloved Serena was leaving! ~*~ 


	3. ch3

Ch3  
  
Serena sat in front of her mirror, her hand pressed against the glass. She sat there looking into the mirror with a blank expression on her face, nothing moved except for a slight tremble in her lip. She was pressing hard against the mirror, as if she could push through it's cold surface and allow her to have contact with the other side. This continued for an hour until she could not force herself any farther, then her hand dropped into her lap and her head slumped into the padded headrest of her chair. {I admire your efforts, but you are trying too hard!} "Easy for you to say, all you do is sit there and watch me kill myself doing this!" {All the same, princess, you are still trying to force your way through. You must submit to the physical existence of the mirror, then you must become one with the glass.} "Fine, so how do I pull that trick off?" {You must submit to the will of the mirror, only then can you pass through and join us on the other side.} "Great, all I have to do is become like the glass and I can escape from this blasted prison of mine, thanks for setting me straight!" {You have done extremely well princess, it's only a matter of time now, and time is all you have.} And this is how the Queens life continued for years; Serena had dedicated herself to crossing over and finally being free once again. To this end everyday of her life was spent in the pursuit of passing through the silver barrier to freedom.  
  
The years had continued to roll past, and Serena had continued to bond with her mirror, hoping to break free of her eternal isolation. Then it happened, one evening while gazing into the mirror, her mind wandered to other thoughts while she touched the mirrors cold surface, without even a moment's hesitation, her hand passed through the glass to touch the flesh and blood hand of her reflection. Serena's eye's opened wide in surprise and happiness, after all these centuries, she finally connected with another living being, now all her hopes would be fulfilled! Her hand was now clasping the warm flesh of another person; the sensation of this minor stimulation gave her more pleasure than she could ever remember. As she held the hand of her reflection and gazed longingly into the mirror, the eyes of her reflection began to glow and before she could react, she was locked into their timeless depths.  
  
As she starred into the mirror, thoughts and images began to flood her mind, the faces of those who had abandoned her along with the faces of the dead, filled her head. Now Serena was totally entranced by the mirror but she could not see the real image in the mirror, it was not a reflection of herself, but of a beautiful woman with flowing black hair and a gold crown on her forehead. Serena had been captured by the evil Queen Nehelenia, who so hated everyone connected with the silver Millennium that she had attacked the Moon Princess where she was most vulnerable, in her dreams. As she sat before the mirror, trapped by Queen Nehelenia, the golden crescent on her forehead turned to black, as she fell under Nehelenia's evil power. ~*~ 


	4. ch4

CH4  
  
Rei sat at the end of Serena's bed slowly chanting incantations of protection, ever since the black crescent had formed on Serena's forehead, Rei could sense a strong evil power growing inside her future queen. Her years of training as a spiritual exorcist at the family shrine came in very handy now. Rei had plastered the room with charms to dispel the evil and to help purify its victim. As Rei was concentrating on her chants, the rest of the team entered the room to have a look at Serena and see how she was doing. Darien noticed that her breathing had increased more than usual so he sat on the edge of the bed to take a closer look at her. He leaned over and moved in close to her face, he noted that her cheeks had more color than usual and her eyes were moving a little under her eyelids. "Sure looks to me like she might be coming around!" Darien would be so happy to have Serena back, he would not admit it openly but he really relied on her strength of heart to keep his own faith in their mission. As his hand brushed gently down one of her cheeks, Serena let out a soft moan, then ever so slowly her eyes finally opened once again! Seeing her eye's opened at last, everyone in t he room started to cheer and hug one another in celebration of Serena's return. Rei was smiling like crazy, but she was still uneasy, she could sense major negative energies still in the air and she was not ready to let down her guard just yet!  
  
Serena's mind was completely muddled, she didn't know where she was or what was happening around her, all she knew was that she was not alone anymore. As her eyes opened, the first thing she saw was Darien's face hovering above her with a great smile beaming down at her. "Endymion-Sama? Is that really you my love?" Serena sounded confused but that was no surprise after 2 weeks in a coma. "Welcome back, Serena my love!" "No.it can't be you, you were killed by Queen Metalia!" Now Darien was seriously confused, Serena must have been dreaming about the silver millennium and thought she was still there. "It's alright now Serena, we're all together now, even your loving friends are with us." As her eyes looked around the room, even though the light was so intense, much more than it was on the moon, she could clearly see the faces of her Royal court. What she saw in their faces sent a cold chill running down her spine, all she could see were faces full of hatred and rage. "What do you want with me, after all these centuries why do you return to torment me now?" Everyone could now see that Serena was truly terrified, her eyes darted this way and that, like a trapped animal looking for a way to escape. No one quit knew what to say to her, they had expected her to be her happy self, not this terrified little girl who just wanted to run away. Her eyes suddenly locked on the sight of her transformation broach setting on the table next to her bed. Before anyone knew what was going on, Serena jumped out of her bed, grabbing the broach and running to an empty corner of the room. She held the broach high, taking a second to recall the words she had not spoken for almost 500 years. "Crisis Make-Up", as she spoke the words she was enveloped in a flash of light and transformed once again into Super Sailor Moon. The power flowing through her body was incredible; she had forgotten the glorious feel of the energy when it was released. Without hesitation Super Sailor Moon put her hands out in front of her and bolts of Dark power blasted into the room, hitting everyone and knocking them off their feet. Super Sailor Moon took off running, she sped past her mother without even a glance and blasted her way through the front door, finally free she took off for the safety of the crowded city.  
  
Serena had no idea where she was going, this place was strange and alien to her eyes, all she knew was that she had to escape and that she was being drawn somewhere, someplace that promised her safe shelter. After a few hours of roaming the city, and nearly getting killed by oncoming traffic, she found herself in an isolated grotto in one of the city parks, she curled herself up in it's dark protective embrace and drifted off to sleep.  
  
Everyone in the room was dazed and hurt, Serena's unexpected attack had caught them unprotected and they had all suffered one injury or another. They looked at each other in utter confusion, what was wrong with Serena and why had she attacked them as if they were her enemies? As they all limped their way downstairs, they saw what was left of the front door, wood shards were scattered on the sidewalk out front from the force of the explosion. Everyone decided that the first thing they had to do was to get Dr. Mizuno as quick as possible to help with the injured, then they would think about what to do next.  
  
It was nearly midnight when Serena awoke in the shelter of her little grotto; the moon was out and casting a silvery shin on everything around her. This made her feel much more at home, the silvery light was more like the bright days on the moon that she had know for so very long. Now she was compelled to move on, still searching for someplace that was calling out to her. She roamed the darkened city in search of something familiar; finally she was drawn to the edge of a lake, the moonlight dancing upon its surface, inviting Serena to enter its realm. Serena paused for a moment and collected her thoughts, then she raised the silver crystal to the sky and called for the door to the time vortex to appear. In a moment, a form solidified on the edge of the lake, the door opened and Serena passed through the opening and into the time vortex, forgetting all her problems and focusing on her mission, the mission for her Queen! As the door to the time vortex vanished from the edge of the lake, an energy ripple washed out from that spot, and everything that was, vanished without a trace, history had been forgotten! 


	5. ch5

CH5  
  
Sailor Pluto stood at the main entrance to the time vortex, her eternal watch undisturbed, when suddenly she sensed an opening to the vortex that did not exist, and just as quickly, it disappeared again. Pluto instantly started to examine the time streams for any information on who had entered, but whoever it was, knew exactly where they were going because they quickly exited the vortex and dropped out of sensor range. Then Pluto was shocked by a time ripple, which passed through her realm; somewhere, someone had just altered time and the history that Pluto knew so well was erased! Pluto began a systematic search of the time vortex, hoping to discover what event had been altered and hopefully, how to repair the damage that had been done. After an intensive search, Sailor Pluto had gathered all the information that she needed, then she called for a portal and set out to repair the damage.  
  
As the door to the time vortex closed behind her and disappeared, Serena was able to confirm that she had indeed arrived at the appropriate point in the history of the Silver Millennium, above her rose the glowing blue white jewel of the earth. Serena took a moment to revel in the sight of a healthy earth with millions of inhabitants, a sight she had not seen in 500 years. She quickly gathered her thoughts and started off for the main Palace where she knew she would find Queen Serenity. As she made her way towards the palace, she came across a small group of children playing in a lush green park. As she approached, a ball bounced out and landed in her path, followed by a little girl about 8 years old who picked up the ball and just stood and looked up into the eyes of Super Sailor Moon. "Hello, would you like to play with us?" asked young Princess Serenity. Super Sailor Moon looked down upon her younger self, "get out of my way runt", then she kicked the child to the side and started to walk away. That was enough for her little friends, suddenly Super Sailor Moon was surrounded by 4 other young girls, each stood defiantly, demanding that she apologize to Princess Serenity. When Super Sailor Moon tried to push through them, she was blocked by one girl, clad in a green sundress and easily the tallest of the bunch, who threatened to knock her lights out if she refused to apologize. Super Sailor Moon could hold back her laughter no longer; the sight of this little kid threatening to deck her was just too much. Although she was about to double over from the laughing, she quickly delivered a swift round kick to the child and headed off to the Palace, where Queen Serenity awaited.  
  
In the main assembly room of the palace, Queen Serenity stood before several witnesses and one person who was about to be condemned for her crimes. "Nehelania; you have been found guilty of the crime of killing 200 people and stealing their dream mirrors to satisfy your own lustful ambitions, it has therefore been decided that you shall be sealed away in the darkness of your mirror where you will never be a threat to anyone ever again!" Nehelenia did not speak; she only braced herself for the sentence to be executed.  
  
Super Sailor Moon rushed past the security at the door, then she saw her target ahead of her. Queen Nehelania and Queen Serenity stood across the room from each other; Serenity was about to seal Nehelania away with her silver crystal. Super Sailor Moon lunged past the witnesses and got between Nehelania and Serenity, she raised her hands and sent Dark power blasting into Queen Serenity, killing her instantly. As quickly as she had murdered Queen Serenity, she grabbed the Silver Imperium Crystal from her charred hands and tossed it to Queen Nehelania. Now that Queen Nehelania had possession of the silver crystal, her powers were unmatched by any other in the Moon kingdom. As the terrified onlookers watched in shock, Super Sailor Moon knelt down before Queen Nehelania and swore an oath of loyalty to her new Queen! 


	6. ch6

CH 6  
  
Mina sat beside Serena's bed gently wiping her feverish brow with a damp cloth. " Why didn't you call one of use to help, you meatball head?" Mina asked, hoping that she would get some response, but her question was only answered with silence. Mina looked at Serena's gentle face, the golden bangs of her hair stuck to her reddish forehead. As Mina tended her injured queen, she suddenly began to sense a change in the room around her. As she looked around she finally noticed a section of the wall, which was starting to shimmer. Mina quickly called everyone up to Serena's room to be ready for what was coming. After a moment it became obvious that there was no danger, rather it was a time portal that was forming and everyone expected to see Sailor Pluto any minuet.  
  
Pluto finally entered the room and everyone waited patiently for Pluto to speak. She walked over and placed her hand on Serena's forehead and closed her eyes in concentration. After a moment she opened her eyes and spoke, "it is as I feared Serena was attacked in her dreams while she lay here unconscious, now the future is in dire jeopardy." Darien was a little confused, "Setsuna, you said that she WAS attacked in her dreams, why are you speaking of this in the past tense, what is happening to her?" Pluto just looked longingly at everyone in the room, as if trying to burn the image of their faces into her mind. "I cannot tell you everything that has happened, but I will tell you this much; I have come from your future, as it now stands you will all be dead within several days." Everyone looked around at each other, looks of disbelief and shock on their faces.  
  
"There is only one hope left to save our world, I must travel into the past and stop Serena from altering the future, it is the only way to put things back the way they were meant to be." "Sailor Saturn, you will accompany me on this mission, I will need your power to prevent the coming evil." Hotaru closed her eyes and instantly transformed into Sailor Saturn and join Pluto before the time portal. "The rest of you must remain here, you must restrain Serena and prevent her from leaving this room, if she leaves, the world that you know will be destroyed!" With that final warning, Sailor Pluto and Saturn entered the time portal on the most desperate mission of their lives.  
  
Pluto and Saturn Crossed the rivers of time, slowly working their way back to the point at which the timeline had been altered. After a seemingly endless journey, the two finally emerged at their destination. Sailor Saturn was momentarily stunned at the sight before her; in the distance she could see the Palace of the Moon, from the Silver Millennium. "Setsuna, is this really what I think it is?" Pluto looked down at Sailor Saturn, "yes, we are back in the Silver Millennium, over a thousand years ago." "This is where Serena altered the past, and in doing so, laid waste to the world you know."  
  
Sailor Pluto and Saturn took off running for the Palace, they had to stop Serena before she had a chance to destroy the world. Upon arrival at the palace, they found themselves a position where they could watch for Serena's approach. As they crouched in the dark corners of the palace, they watched a procession of guards escort a lone prisoner into the main council room, followed shortly by Queen Serenity. Pluto knew the prisoner instantly; she was the evil queen Nehelania, who had been sealed away by Queen Serenity for her vile crimes. Sailor Pluto told Sailor Saturn to get ready; she knew Serena would show up any minuet now.  
  
As Super Sailor Moon came running into the palace, Sailor Pluto and Saturn sprung into action. They quickly sprinted after Super Sailor Moon and entered the council chamber, hot on her heels. Sailor Saturn shouted; "Silence Wall!" and swung her glaive towards Queen Serenity, placing a strong protective shield around her body. At the same time, Sailor Pluto lowered her staff and cried out, "Dead Scream!" sending a powerful blast at Super Sailor Moon. Super Sailor Moon was unaware of the other attackers; she was under the complete control of Nehelania, who sought to destroy Queen Serenity, she raised her hands and sent dark energy blasting out at Queen Serenity.  
  
Nehelania watched the show before her in great interest, if this young lady was successful, she may yet escape from her impending doom. As the dark power struck out at Queen Serenity, it was suddenly deflected by some barrier that had just sprung up before her. As Serena focused all her power and rage at Queen Serenity, she did not even notice the powerful blast that struck her from the side, knocking her into a wall and into darkness.  
  
Very quickly, the dust settled and everyone present looked around in confusion about what had just happened. Queen Serenity was looking at the body of an unknown Sailor Senshi, who was now slumped against the far wall of the chamber. Sailor Pluto stepped up before the Queen, followed closely by Sailor Saturn. "Your majesty, I trust that you are unharmed." Queen Serenity looked over to her, "Sailor Pluto? Is that really you?" "Yes my Queen, please excuse our intrusion, but our mission was of critical importance to the future." Pluto then walked over to Super Sailor Moon, and with Sailor Saturn's help, they helped Sailor Moon stand and held her up to see the Queen. "Your Majesty; please lend us your healing powers to purify your daughter and restore her to the kind hearted princess we love." "My daughter? My daughter is only 8 years old and is playing back in our residence." "I know this is very confusing, but this is also your daughter, we have come from the future to prevent your death and the destruction of our world. Princess Serenity was under the control of an evil power that sought to destroy you." As Queen Serenity looked closely at this girl, she finally began to recognize the features of her beloved little girl; the only difference was the black moon crescent upon her brow. "Yes, I believe what you are saying and if this is truly my daughter, then as a loving mother I must do what I can to purify her mind." With that, Queen Serenity raised the silver imperium crystal into the air, "Moon healing Escalation!" With these words of power, the Silver Crystal began to radiate a healing light into Princess Serenity, healing her body and cleansing her mind of the negative energy that had taken control. As Pluto watched, the black moon crescent faded away, and finally the golden moon crescent returned, signaling that all the evil power had been removed from her mind. As they stood before the Queen, Serena started to wake up, "Pluto; Saturn..what's going on?" "Don't worry Princess, as soon as we get you home, we will tell you everything that has happened." Serena looked around as she was carefully walked to the chamber doors, she was not quit sure where she was but she thought she had saw Queen Serenity, but dismissed it as just a side effect of the poison.  
  
Darien and the other Senshi were just recovering from the blast that Sailor Moon had attacked them with. As they tried to figure out what had happened, a door to the time portal opened and Sailor Pluto entered the room, helping Serena to limp back into her room. Everyone looked in wonder at this unexpected sight, Pluto helped Serena into bed and then she smiled at everyone and crossed back through the time portal and left them to celebrate the return of their Queen. As everyone looked closely at Serena, they all saw the Golden Moon Crescent on her forehead and they all felt satisfied that Neo-Queen Serenity had truly returned!  
  
*FIN* 


End file.
